orthostichy

[awr-thos-ti-kee]

noun

Botany.

plural

orthostichies 

1. a vertical rank or row.

2. an arrangement of members, as leaves, at different heights on an axis so that their median planes coincide.

orthostichy

/ ɔːˈθɒstɪkɪ /

noun

1. an imaginary vertical line that connects a row of leaves on a stem

2. an arrangement of leaves so connected

Other Word Forms

• orthostichous adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of orthostichy¹

1870–75; ortho- + Greek -stichia alignment, equivalent to stích ( os ) row ( stich ¹ ) + -ia -y ³

Word History and Origins

Origin of orthostichy¹

C19: from _ortho- + Greek stikhos line